Shabbos Parashas Mikeitz - 5777

Shabbos Parashas Mikeitz - 5777

Rabbi Hal Miller

Yosef saw his brothers and he recognized them, and he disguised himself to them and spoke

with them harshly. He asked them, "From where do you come?" And they said, "From the

land of Canaan to buy food." [Bereishit 42:7]

Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. [Bereishit 42:8]

We often see things, but don't really see them. Some things, though plain before our eyes,

we just cannot comprehend. Yosef seems to have understood who these men were, but

they did not recognize him. Why did the Torah see fit to tell us this, not once but twice?

Most commentators delve into the question of why the brothers did not recognize Yosef, and

point out things like Yosef disguising himself, speaking harshly, or simply having grown up.

He was seventeen when they last saw him, and at this point is a fully-grown man. Some say

he had no beard when he was sold, but had one now. Others say that he had some measure

of facial hair then, but was clean-shaven now in the custom of Egypt. Regardless which of

these approaches one accepts, we can believe from our own life experience that the brothers

may not have recognized who it was they were looking at. But that doesn't answer our questions.

Did Yosef's voice change that significantly after age 17? Yitzchak heard the voice of Yaakov

yet still believed his sense of smell and touch instead of the obvious when Yaakov claimed to

be Esav. Maybe we can say that Yitzchak had more reason to pay close attention than did the

brothers. Yitzchak had seen his sons that day, and expected them to be around. The brothers

had no expectation of Yosef showing up in these circumstances all these years later. Yet Yosef

felt the need to disguise himself anyway.

Ibn Ezra thinks that it isn't so clear that Yosef really recognized his brothers at first. He writes,

"at first he recognized that they were his brothers as a group. After this he looked at each one

and recognized him as an individual." According to this, Yosef knew from what they told him about

traveling from their father, being originally twelve brothers, and so forth, that they were in fact his

family. But, Yosef did not recognize each brother at first. Once he finally did, we get the repeated

phrase in our second verse. In other words, even when face to face, even Yosef could not see what it

was he was looking at.

Nachshoni brings Kedushas Levi that there are "two kinds of miracles, those that take place through

man's actions, the miracles that are with us each day (meaning through our participation), and

those that are Your wonders every evening and morning" (meaning ones in which G-d's hand is

clearly visible.) The miracles on Chanukah were natural miracles, leading us to say after lighting

the Chanukiah, "establish the work of our hands upon us.". One Chanukah miracle does not fit

this pattern, that of the oil. Battles appear to be won or lost by human strength and skill, but one

day's worth of oil does not burn for an extra seven days by human intervention. When we look at

the results of a battle, we might see human victory rather than G-d's victory. When we look at the

oil, we can only see G-d's hand.

When Yosef looked at his brothers at first, he saw a bunch of men. He knew who they were, yet did

not really recognize them. When they confirmed that they had come from Canaan, he saw them for

who they really were, repentant over their past, still caring for their father and families.

When the brothers looked at Yosef at first, they could do nothing but see an Egyptian. Once he

revealed himself, they finally saw who it was who had been standing in front of them all along. They

realized that he had been teaching them a valuable lesson.

When we look at the dreidel and latkes, material things that we make or do, will we see G-d's hand?

When we look at the Chanukah lights that commemorate something we could not do, it's easier to

see. Our job is to see G-d in both.